BUKHARA: THE PRINCESS OF CITIES - Tourism in Central Asia: Cultural Potential and Challenges - page 75

to dwell in the North Star which has seven points. This new monument,
the shadow of the North Star on Earth, would give Bukhara the blessings
of Tengri. This holy city would be under the protection of Tengri. Even
today, when you visit Bukhara, you can see this invaluable necklace, with
its seven gates, seven towers, and monumental entrance. In his book His-
tory of Bukhara , Narshakhi points out that the ruler Bidun, who gifted this
necklace to Bukhara, was a descendant of the Bukhar-khudat Dynasty,
which ruled Bukhara for 22 generations (Narshakhi, 1954). During the
same period (500 B.C.), Bukhara was beginning to establish the basis for
the historical trade route “Silk Road”; besides, it was becoming involved
with the second religion after Tengriism in its history, Zoroastrianism.

FIGURE 11 Ancient City of Bukhara “Ark” (www.bura.org.tr).

Bukhara got acquainted with the Achaemenid culture in 550-330 B.C.
and later with Hellenistic culture in 330 B.C.-10 A.D. under the rule of
Alexander the Great and his successors. During the reign of Kushan rul-
er Kanishka (78-101 A.D.), Buddhism had its most influential period in
Bukhara (Frumkin, 1970; Gorshenina and Rapin, 2008). Bukharan mer-
chants and governors trading with Kushans protected their city and lands
against Kushans by paying taxes; moreover, they improved the cultural
bonds, which was a Bukharan sociopolitical tradition.
Between the years 230- 350, Bukhara was under the rule of the Kushan
Empire. However, after a long period of conflicts between Sassanids and
Hephtalites (White Huns), Bukhara fell into the power of Hephtalites be-
tween 375 and 557 (Akbulut, 2002).